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| Did
you know? |
The
real mother of nursing is in fact an Afrikan woman named Mary
Seacole and not Florence Nightingale.
Mary was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. Growing up in
the military, Mary became fascinated with army life. She also
had a great fascination for nursing and exploration. When she
was 12 she was sent to England to pursue her love of nursing.
During 1852, a Cholera outbreak swept across Jamaica and Seacole
treated many of the sick with her own remedies - herbal medicines
she learnt from her mother. In 1854 England, France and the
Ottoman empire (Turkey being the centre) fought against Russia
in the Crimean War. Mary travelled to England to offer her services,
but was denied on the basis of her sex and race. Despite this
she kept on trying - she tried the War Office and Florence Nightingale's
own organisation,but was met with rejection. Determined she
made her own way to the Crimea. She came up with a new plan,
which was to run an institution called the British Hotel, which
served as a combination of store, dispensary and hospital for
British soldiers. Once there she volunteered her services to
various military hospitals, and nursed the wounded and dying
soldiers on the battlefield. The officers loved her and referred
to her as "Mother Seacole". Mary Seacole died in 1881 and is
buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Rise off the
Harrow Road in West London. Sir William Howard Russell wrote
of her this fitting tribute " ... I trust that England will
not forget the one who nursed her sick and who sought out her
wounded to aid and succour them and who performed the last office
for some of her illustrious dead". |
 Beer
was first invented in Afrika more than 4,000 years ago using
traditional ingredients such as Kamut.
In ancient times Afrikans used beer for medicinal purposes
to treat many ailments like as diabetes such was the potency
of the ingredients used to make the beer. |
The
black astronomers of Ancient Egypt (Kemet) were the first to
develop a solar calendar which divided the year into 365 days,
consisting of 12 months of 30 days each.
Five additional days were added to the end of the year,
which corresponded to the birth of the Gods Ausar, Auset, Heru,
Set and Nephthys, who were the progenitors of the human race
(12 X 30 + 5 = 365 days). The year was subsequently divided
into three seasons of four months duration, which were called
the inundation, the cultivation and the harvest. Each 30-day
month was divided into 3 weeks of 10 days, and each day was
then divided into 24 hours. The Kemites realised that their
civil calendar was imperfect because it lacked a quarter of
a day each year relative to its sidereal orbit - the exact period
in which the earth makes one complete revolution around the
sun. To correct this error, a more precise sidereal calendar
was introduced around 4236 B.C.E. This new calendar alleviated
the necessity of adding one day every four years (leap year)
by adding a new year every 1,460 years (4 X 365 = 1,460). |
The
oldest University in the world is the Lodge of Luxor in Egypt.
At its peak between 1405 BC and 1370 BC, it housed over
80,000 students studying elements like Science, Physics, Mathematics,
Astronomy, Medicine, Architecture etc. Greeks such as Plato,
Socrates, Aristotle and Pythagoras all studied at this Afrikan
university and were taught by Afrikan scribes before taking
this knowledge back to Greece/Europe. |
 The
great city of Washington D.C. in the Unites States was designed
by an Afrikan-American named Benjamin Banneker.
Banneker was an outstanding astronomer, mathematician and
surveyor of his day and was commissioned by President George
Washington in 1791 to lay down the plans which today bear testimony
to this great man's genius. |
 Afrikan
people have participated in space exploration for centuries.
For example the Dogon tribe of West Afrika plotted the orbits
of satellites circling the brightest star in our galaxy, Sirius,
without the aid of any equipment. They knew hundreds of years
ago of one if its satellites that the West has only recently
discovered using the most sophisticated technological equipment.
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The
worlds first ever successful open heart surgery was performed
by an Afrikan-American.
That scientist was called Dr Daniel Hale Williams and he
performed the operation on 9th July 1893. |
There
have been three Afrikan Pope's of Rome.
Pope Viktor 186-197 AD
Pope Melchiadez 311-314 AD
Pope Gelasius 492-496 AD |
The
world's first caesarian section operation was performed in Egypt.
Caesarian, the child of Julius Ceasar and Cleopatra VII,
was born using the surgical procedure that is now standard in
most hospitals. |
 The
Great Pyramid of King Khufu in Giza, Egypt has more stones in
it than all of the churches, chapels and cathedrals built in
England since the time of Christ.
It also has enough stones to build more than 30 Empire State
buildings. |
 The
Three Musketeers, one of the most popular novels of all time
was written by an Afrikan (black) man by the name of Alexandre
Dumas.
He cited the phrase "all for one and one for all" and wrote
classics such as the Count of Monte Cristo and the Black Tulip.
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| More
"did you know" |
| Kwame
Osei is an Afrikan Historian and Director of East Midlands African-Caribbean
Arts (EMACA). |
Click
here... for full event listings for Black History Month 2005 in Notttinghamshire
|
